My return plane ticket has already been purchased, as has my eurail pass - and I'm budgeting 80 euro a day for the rest of the trip which I'm hoping will cover food, accommodation, art gallery/museum passes and perhaps a few beverages.

Is this amount sufficiant for the countries listed above from August through to the end of November? I understand I'm arriving in peak season and have tried to factor this in.

I've just had so many mixed reviews from family and friends as to whether this amount is enough. Some say it's more than enough - some say I'm pushing it. At this stage of the game I'm not in a position to produce any more money for my trip, haha - but I may cut down on length of time or amount of countries if those in the know think it best.

Except for Greece, you picked countries that are all expensive - much more so than the countries in central and eastern europe, for instance. Nevertheless, €80/day should be sufficient to cover for all expenses excluding transport. You might need to budget a little bit (don't go partying and drinking as often as you might want to, and not visit all of the museums and sights you come across), but it should get you a long way.

What an ambitious plan to take this big trip!I have been in a couple of countries like Spain, France, London, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. So I hope I can help you out.

It´s overall a lot of countries you want to do in four months and you don´t have a lot of money. Especially traveling from the country to country is very expensive, so here are a few tips.

- plan your trip very exactly. So go through the internet searching for hotels in the cities you want to stay, see which hotels have the best offers in the period you are there. And it´s smart to book the hotels before you go so that you are sure you have a place to stay and also a cheap one.

- Also see what you want to visit like the museum, so that you know where you want to go and only go to the places you really want to see.

- You can also cut down on length of time but then you have less time to see all those countries, and it is a lot.

- Maybe you can choose the countries you really want to see. As I said I have been to a couple of countries so I have a few suggestions. Maybe you can choose between Belgium and the Netherlands, they are not so different. My birth country is Holland so if you want to know more about that I can help you. Like Amsterdam is worth a visit.Maybe you can also choose between Ireland and London and between Spain and Portugal. Just suggestions!

I hope I helped you out and if you have any more questions just ask me!

With 80 EUR a day and the Eurail pass already paid for you should be ok. You might even have some money left over at the end of your trip if you are careful with your money: Stay at hostels and sleep in dorms most of the time and buy most of your food from the supermarket.

When you sleep in hostel dorms and buy your food from the supermarket you can expect to spend around 35 EUR per day on food and accomodation (5-15 EUR for food and 15-30 EUR for a bed in a hostel dorm). This will leave you with 45 EUR per day for entry to sights, partying, going out and other fun stuff. Not big riches considering the countries you picked, but ok. Entry to a big museum will be between 5-15 EUR, a tour around the city between 10-25 EUR, drinks at a bar can be around 5-15 EUR - all depending upon the city.

BTW, I hope you are aware of the Schengen Area and the 90 days in 180 days rule. With your current travel plans you have to spend 34 days of your trip in Ireland and the UK because all the other countries are part of the Schengen Area.

thank you all so much. That was very sound and realistic advice. By the sounds of it - the general consensus is that my trip is do-able - but I'll be just scraping by!

I will indeed try and consolidate some countries - I don't want to miss out on Portugal but I think I could forego Belgium in favour of Amsterdam.

I forgot to mention that I'm staying with friends & family in Ireland, London & Germany so accomodation in these countries will be free - aside from the cost of a dinner/vino as a thank you.

I will definately try and purchase groceries as opposed to eating out to save on food expenses and will only attempt to see the big museums /galleries/ attractions like the louvre and the colosseum.

I'm torn as to whether I should book accommodation in advance as am scared this will tie me down to a place and not let me be as impulsive when it comes to going to new and exciting places off the beaten track. But I think you're right in saying that this will ensure I secure a cheaper hotel in advance during peak times and make me stick to my itinerary (which doesn't realistically leave much time for alternative travel).

What I really want to know about now is the Schengen Area and the 90 days in 180 days rule. I've never heard of this before and I was only going to spend a week in Ireland and two weeks in London - is this not allowed??

thank you all again for all your help - I really appreciate it.

P.S have any of you dabbled in Couch Surfing before? I'm travelling solo so was a bit hesitant to go down this path for safety reasons - but by the same token the experience would no doubt be one in a million and of course would save on accommodation costs.

What I really want to know about now is the Schengen Area and the 90 days in 180 days rule. I've never heard of this before and I was only going to spend a week in Ireland and two weeks in London - is this not allowed??

As I already wrote: With your current travel plans you have to spend 34 days of your trip in Ireland and the UK because all the other countries are part of the Schengen Area.

So no, your travel plans do not work out. One week in Ireland and 2 weeks in London are not 34 days. The problem is that your stay inside the Schengen zone must not exceed 90 days if you want to go visa-free. So if you are going for 4 months (124 days as you say) to Europe you need to spent at least 34 days outside the Schengen Area.

As I see it you'll have to switch a few destinations. May I suggest going down into Morocco for 2-3 weeks between Spain and Portugal? I would also consider going to Turkey and Bulgaria from Greece if you'll be flying into Greece from Oz.

the general consensus is that my trip is do-able - but I'll be just scraping by!

You'll be far more than just scraping by. There are plenty of people travelling around Europe with much tighter budgets, say 60 EUR per day and without the Eurail pass already paid for. 80 EUR per day with the Eurail pass already paid for is a very good budget, you really don't have to worry as long as you are a bit careful.

You should also know the difference between hotels and hostels: You might be be able to afford cheap hotel rooms on your budget but you really shouldn't because it will leave you with almost no money for anythings else. Hostels will work just as fine and are far more friendly to your budget (all you need is a safe and clean place to sleep). A hotel room starts at around 50 EUR per night for a single room, compared to that a bed in a hostel can be had for 10-30 EUR.

About booking in advance: If I was you I would book hostels about 1 week or several days in advance, either using the internet or the phone. (Tip: see the Accomodation link on the left side on this website.) This way you stay flexible.

I strongly advise against booking accomodation for the whole trip. I mean shit happens, what if you step into a pothole on the second day of your trip and break your leg? Happened to me a few years ago, I was never more glad that my accomodation was not already reserved and paid for. (Ever tried to cancel a booking from the bed of a hospital when you can't even go to the toilet, have no phone and cannot remember the booking details?)

I realised you supplied a link at the bottom of your post regarding Schengen right after I pressed the send button - and read up on the wiki definition - I had absolutely no idea about it prior to this and my oh-so-not-helpful travel agents had assured me my visa requirements were all in check.

I'll take this information back to them and see if I can apply for a Schengen holiday visa in the event that I don't travel to Turkey and those other destinations - 11 countries is so big as is.

I'm definately going to stay in hostels - bit freaked out about leaving my gear around - but I'm told lockers are available in most and I'll take advantage of that.

thank you again

p.s your pot hole story is both tragic and hilarious! touch wood I'm not cancelling accommodation from a hospital bed! haha

Tess, you are an Australian citizen, right? Then you cannot apply for a tourist visa to Schengen, because Aussies can travel visa-free. What you can do is apply for a working holiday visa (WHV) to one of the schengen states (say Germany), this would solve your problems. (You cannot get a WHV for all the Schengen states, just for the individual countries.)

But the easiest solution would be to spend 34 days outside Schengen. 3 weeks in the UK and Ireland as you planned (21 days) plus 2 weeks in Morrocco (14 days; 21+15= 36 days). Morocco will blow your mind, I think you'll love it there. Plus Morocco is relatively cheap, travelling there will cost you only half as much as it would cost in Spain.